Tallstar, the Great Tail Thief of WindClan
by Scarynose
Summary: The entirely non-canon story of Tallstar, WindClan's most renowned leader, and his hidden undying thirst for tails...
1. Prologue

This is based on a theory Stone from Ww came up with… (Also known as SCWW. xD What genius naming! *shot*) I'm not sure whether it's taboo to put the link here or something, but I probably wouldn't anyway. Hehe. So here's the theory……

Epic Theory:

Tallstar-- A black and white tom with a long tail

Barkface-- A brown tom with a short tail

Their tail-lengths are more than a coincidence, I think Tallstar stole part of Barkface's tail!

And the reason why Barkface is still alive is because of the short tail. His heart wouldn't have o pump as much blood as a normal cat, so that means his heart wouldn't wear out as fast!

Makes perfect sense, right?

And from there is just got epicer and epicer…So without further ado, the fanfic! ;D

Prologue

A long time ago, in a time long before the story we know, the forest was a place of piece. WindClan, often the littlest of the four Clans, was the most prosperous. They lived under the rule of the great Windstar, the last of the original leaders.

It had been a dark moon. The Gathering that had lead them into it was ominous – ShadowClan were demanding more hunting grounds, and thanks to the ignorance of Owlstar of ThunderClan, WindClan were the power-hungry Clan's first victims. Frequent border fights had broken out since the Gathering, and casualties were growing on both sides.

Thankfully, under the leadership of the ever great Windstar, WindClan fought off attack after attack – their defences were impenetrable. However, it was not long before their medicine cat Thrushpelt received a sign from StarClan. Windstar's time was coming to an end.

It had been a painful day. ShadowClan had just been repelled from their fiercest attack yet. It seemed as if the whole Clan was coming to attack them. Windstar had contemplated asking ThunderClan for help, but he knew that broke the warrior code, and his leadership enough had been enough to get them by at the least.

A yowl of pain erupted through the camp. Cats of WindClan ran straight to the source – Windstar's den. Inside, to their shock, they found the Clan deputy Gorsefur.

"Gorsefur, what's wrong?" One cat asked. Gorsefur looked up, his eyed wide with shock and sadness.

"W-W-Windstar… She's dead." He stammered. A gasp went around the assembled cats, as Thrushpelt pushed her way towards their departed leader. She examined him for a moment, held her nose to their leader's flank, and turned to the crowd. She shook her head sadly. Truly, Windstar was dead.

"How will we hold off ShadowClan now?" A warrior, Thistletail, called out. "WindClan is doomed!" Panic broke out. Gorsefur and Thrushpelt tried to stop it, but in the end their own depression at the death stopped them. They would all have to wait until tomorrow, when Gorsefur could become leader…

A young apprentice, who Thrushpelt identified as Pebblepaw, pushed his way through the crowd towards her. She quickly redeemed herself, and approached him.

"Pebblepaw, did you want to see me?" Thrushpelt asked, her voice still shaky.

"Thrushpelt! Come quickly! Robinsong is having her kits!" Thrushpelt's eyes opened wide – there might be hope for WindClan after all! The two of them pushed their way back through the panicking Clan, followed closely by Gorsefur, who was by then almost too depressed to be cheered up by the newborn kits.

By the time they reached the Nursery, the noise was dying behind them. Most of the cats were inside of the leaders' den, to escape the heavy rain. They stepped inside to see Robinsong on the ground. Beside her was her mate, Runningleaf, trying to comfort her. It seemed fairly evident that Robinsong wasn't going to pay any attention to him, so Runningleaf turned to Thrushpelt.

"Please, please help her!" He said, but she was already at Robinsong's side. She indicated for him to get out of her way. Runningleaf willingly obliged.

"Barkpaw!" Thrushpelt barked. Her ever-attentive apprentice rushed to her side.

"Yes?" He inquired, his very long tail curling around his legs as he stood to attention.

"Get me some herbs – I trust your judgement. Hurry!" He ran off in a hurry to the medicine cat den. Thrushpelt dropped to Robinsong's side, muttering encouragements and talking her through as she helped her deliver the kits. It seemed like forever until Barkpaw returned with poppy seeds and some strengthening herbs.

"Good," Thrushpelt praised, "perhaps you can take over for now." Barkpaw's eyes grew wide.

"But… But I…"

"No questions! Do it." He nodded, and Thrushpelt left the Nursery. She returned to the leader's den, where things were starting to settle down.

"Looks like the whole Clan is in a panic." Gorsefur mewed from beside her. Thrushpelt jumped – she had almost forgotten he was here. It seemed the deputy had redeemed himself considerably. He padded to the spot where Windstar's body lay.

"Cats of WindClan!" Gorsefur called out. The talking died down immediately. "Windstar has died. She was a good leader, and a good friend to all of us." His eyes clouded with sadness, but he continued on. "But now is a time for change. Tomorrow, at sun-high, I will announce a new deputy. Until then, stay calm. WindClan will strike back against ShadowClan, and with me as leader we will win the war!" Cheering went through the ranks of the Clan.

"Thrushpelt, are you… Thrushpelt!" The medicine cat's eyes were wide. She suddenly snapped up.

"Danger…is coming… All of our…tails…are in grave…danger!" Thrushpelt collapsed, leaving the cats around in great confusion.

"Our tails are in danger? What in StarClan puts our tails in danger?" One cat asked.

"It must be ShadowClan's doing!"

"We're all doomed!"

"No matter. I will take over the position of leadership. Everything will make itself clear in time…I hope…" Gorsefur declared, and began to pad out of the den. It had stopped raining since, but the ground was still too damp. "It is too damp outside to hold the usual vigil… Windstar's vigil will be held in here." The Clan was confused – this had never happened before.

As the cats of WindClan were gathering around their leader's corpse, Barkpaw crept back into the leaders den. He approached Thrushpelt as inconspicuously as possible. As soon as she was alerted, she left with her apprentice to go back to the Nursery. It only took a couple of moments until the two of them returned with a startled-looking Runningleaf.

"WindClan!" Thrushpelt announced. The vigil immediately paused so they could hear what she had to say. "Robinsong has just had a kit. I am proud to announce that Barkpaw delivered it, and he will be given his full medicine cat name at the next meeting!" Cheers went around. Barkpaw looked up with pride – he hadn't been expecting this.

"What is the kit's name?" Gorsefur asked Thrushpelt. She gave him a short glare for cutting the cheering off, but answered anyway.

"Ah, yes. His name is…"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Shortpaw leaped across the barren land, chasing after the speeding rabbit. He was sure they weren't usually this fast! The little white creature was sprinting in almost a straight line, as if it had no place to burrow. Despite the heat of the chase, Shortpaw noticed something coming up ahead – dark, ominous trees which seemed to cast a shadow over the land ahead.

"ShadowClan…" he muttered to himself, and stopped. The rabbit bounded over their boundary line and disappeared into the shadows. "Mouse dung!" He spat, and turned back towards his own territory. There seemed to be forever until he was back towards their camp. He could see the rest of the hunting patrol, too. They were after their own prey, and had left him to fetch the rabbit. Shortpaw quickened his pace.

"Shortpaw! You missed it?" Cloudfur, his mentor asked in a muffled voice. He was holding a fresh-kill rabbit in his own mouth.

"Yes… Sorry." He said, but his mentor shook his head.

"That's okay. Just try again next time. You're only an apprentice – there will be lots of chances." Shortpaw felt better about the missed catch already. He blinked his thanks, and went back to chasing rabbits.

By sun-high, the patrol had caught their fair share of rabbits. Shortpaw was ashamed to see that Pebblepaw had caught more than him. Pebblepaw's mentor, Shadowwind, praised his apprentice. Why couldn't he be better, more like Pebblepaw?

"Well done," Cloudfur mewed cheerfully. "That's a huge one!" Shortpaw looked to the side – Cloudfur was carrying three rabbit bodies back to camp. Why could he only catch one? As they entered the camp and dumped their prey on the fresh-kill pile, Pebblepaw and Shortpaw were greeted by the other apprentices.

"You're free to go now." Lionfang, leader of the hunting patrol and deputy of WindClan, told the apprentices. They moved to an area nearer the apprentice den, and stretched out on the ground.

"Looks like the hunting was good," Brookpaw remarked, to start the conversation. The six of them swapped stories about the events of the day. Shortpaw didn't talk too much, but Pebblepaw seemed to boast enough for the both of them. He was the more experienced apprentice, and it looked like he wasn't far off getting his warrior name. Shortpaw felt a pang of jealousy.

"And how was your day, Shortpaw?" Longpaw asked. He quickly looked up; he'd been lost in thought.

"It was…good. Thanks." He said, smiling politely at her. She nodded and the conversation went on as it did before. Shortpaw stopped paying attention after a few moments. All they seemed to be doing was gossiping anyway. He glanced around the camp, watching the older warriors sharing tongues. Suddenly, Shortpaw was hit by the strangest sensation – desire. Not a desire to be like them…or to be better than them…or to be leader…but what he truly wanted was their tails.

Shortpaw had been born without a tail. Well, not really without, it was just ridiculously small. His whole life he had had to deal with having no tail. Really, it had no disadvantages. But it made him feel like less of a tomcat. But others having such big tails never bothered him until recently. But now, it made him feel strange. Sort of self-conscious, like all he wanted all of a sudden was to have the biggest tail of them all.

"Uh, Shortpaw…?" Brookpaw asked, poking him in the nose with her paw.

"Hmm? What?" He asked, as if awakening from a dream.

"Do you want to share?" She asked, beckoning to the rabbit on the ground in front of him.

"Oh, yes thanks." He said. The two of them sat there for the rest of the day, until Gorsestar called a meeting.

"Cats of WindClan," he announced, from the front of the assembled crowd. There was no high place he could go or anything, so everyone had to strain their hearing to listen. "Tonight there is a Gathering." Suspense rippled in the cats. Who would be going?

"Do you think you'll go?" Brookpaw asked.

"Probably not…" Shortpaw replied, sighing.

"Thistletail, Clawstreak, Cloudfur, Fogtail, Shortpaw and Streakpaw. As well as myself, Lionfang and the elders. That is all." The leader padded towards the medicine cat den, with Barkface right behind him.

"That was strange… I wonder why I was chosen." Shortpaw said quietly.

"It's an honour! I think Gorsestar likes you," Brookpaw replied, not bothering to keep her voice down. "You'd probably better rest until then. You miss out on the ShadowClan patrol, though! Oh well, the Gathering would be twice as good." She continued to chatter on like this, so Shortpaw zoned out again.

* * *

"Welcome, WindClan!" Owlstar called from rock where he was sitting in the center of the clearing. ThunderClan cats around Fourtrees looked pleased to see another Clan. Gorsestar went to sit with Owlstar as the WindClan cats mingled with the ThunderClan ones. Lionfang and the warriors went to speak with the ThunderClan deputy and warriors, the elders went with the ThunderClan elders, and Shortpaw was left thoroughly confused.

"Don't bug the older cats," Streakpaw suggested from beside him. "Let's go to the ThunderClan apprentices." Shortpaw nodded and followed him. The ThunderClan apprentices were much like the WindClan ones were – they chattered on, and Shortpaw found he had nothing to say to them. It was by the time RiverClan had also arrived that he had actually said anything – a ThunderClan apprentice named Smallpaw asked how the hunting was in WindClan.

From then on they got into a bit of a separate conversation from the other apprentices. As it turned out Smallpaw was the longest-apprenticed apprentice in ThunderClan. It had been seasons since he began his training, and he was finally ready for his warrior name. Shortpaw couldn't help over the course of the conversation but notice how small Smallpaw's ears were. It was anyone's wonder what his warrior name would be.

"Cats of the Clans!" Raggedstar of ShadowClan called from the rock in the middle of the clearing. "It is time for the Gathering to begin!"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Hunting has been good in ShadowClan." Raggedstar announced, as the other cats listened in. ShadowClan looked as if they were anticipating something…but what? "Two new kits were born –Ashkit and Whitekit. But on a slightly darker note, WindClan ambushed one of our border patrols yesterday. There were many injuries, but we managed to hold them off. I am not sure what your motives are, Gorsestar, but I would appreciate it if you didn't just attack with no reason."

"Liar!" Gorsestar hissed back. "ShadowClan attacked our patrol! You would have killed our warriors if they didn't—"

"Stop!" Owlstar of ThunderClan commanded. The quarrelling leaders turned to him. "Look up. Clouds are covering the moon – mere moments into our Gathering, and you have already angered StarClan. Stop your quarrelling. There are better things to worry about. I call this Gathering to a close."

Disappointed and angered sentiments went around the assembled cats. Shortpaw for one had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"See you," Smallpaw mewed, dipping his head quickly and bounding off to where ThunderClan cats were assembling. Shortpaw could see Streakpaw bounding over towards him.

"Hey, Shortpaw! We should go and meet Gorsestar and the other WindClan cats now." Streakpaw mewed. "What did you think of Raggedstar? He's a poor liar, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Shortpaw replied, half-staring into space as he followed the other apprentice. "Why do the leaders fight so much? Wouldn't it be easier if they were just happy with the land they had, and got on with their own Clan's lives?" Streakpaw seemed to consider this for a moment.

"You have a good point there. But honestly, it's the leaders' decision. If they want to life happy lives, they need to all get on – and some are easier to please than others." He rolled his eyes in the direction of the retreating ShadowClanners, and Shortpaw laughed.

"Hurry up! We can't wait for some lazy apprentices." Gorsestar snapped. Shortpaw and Streakpaw swapped a glance, and rushed after him.

* * *

"How was the Gathering?" Whirlpaw asked, when they got back. The apprentices lay on a section of the ground, under the stars. It was always relaxing to look up, and watch them twinkle… Streakpaw launched into an elaborate story about how horrible Raggedstar was, and how he was plotting to take over the whole forest. Shortpaw listened in for a while – contrary to prior belief, it was actually quite amusing listening to what the others had to say.

It wasn't too long before some of the warriors were telling Streakpaw to shut up and go to sleep. He made a comment about cranky old badgers, and obliged. Shortpaw lay there looking at silverpelt. It seemed so far away…and yet their warrior ancestors were so near. But why weren't they helping with the battle against ShadowClan? It didn't make any sense…

* * *

Shortpaw was nudged awake in the morning. He quickly jumped up, to find Cloudfur looking at him.

"Sorry to wake you, but are you up for some training?" His mentor asked. Shortpaw agreed enthusiastically – it seemed like forever since they had done any training! The two of them set out to leave the camp, when they saw Shadowwind and Pebblepaw leaving the same way as them.

"Hey, Cloudfur." Shadowwind mewed casually.

"Hello, Shadowwind. Are you out for some training?" Cloudfur asked as they left the camp.

"Yeah, I was going to give Pebblepaw some battle training."

"That sounds like a good idea. Mind if we join you?" Shortpaw's head shot up – training with his father's apprentice?

"Sure. Maybe I can give you a lesson as a more experienced mentor!" Shadowwind joked. Once they were far enough from the camp but still on WindClan territory, the training session began.

"Let's start with the teeth grip technique." Cloudfur began. Pebblepaw was nodding enthusiastically. "Just grab onto your opponents leg, or tail…" He cut off. "Your opponent's leg, ear or scruff. Today we'll just try and do it gently, but in battle push down with your teeth to cause as much pain as possible. Got it?"

"Yes, Cloudfur!" Pebblepaw answered loudly. Shortpaw nodded, quite startled by Pebblepaw's outbreak.

"Right. Anyway, perhaps you two would like to train with each other today. After all, both of you are new to the technique." Shadowwind suggested.

"Great idea, mentor!" Pebblepaw remarked. Shadowwind glared at him levelly until Pebblepaw realized he was meant to start. He circled Shortpaw for a few moments, before leaping out for his left forepaw. Shortpaw leaped backwards, just regaining his footing. Pebblepaw quickly got his balance back, and aimed for Shortpaw's scruff – Shortpaw quickly moved to the right, and went to fasten his teeth around Pebblepaw's tail. He pulled downwards, unbalancing the other apprentice.

Pebblepaw's tail… He had a tail. Why did Pebblepaw have a tail? Is that why he was a better apprentice? Maybe Shortpaw's entire apprenticehood so far…all of his failures…had they all been because of his [i]_stump_[/i]?! He would get a tail. He would get one, if—

"Shortpaw, what in StarClan's name are you doing?" Cloudfur yelled out. He pushed Shortpaw away from Pebblepaw. Shortpaw lost his balance and fell to the ground. Pebblepaw was crying out in pain – there were bite marks on his tail, and he was bleeding heavily.

"Why did you do that, Shortpaw?" Shadowwind hissed. Shortpaw hung his head with shame under his father's glare.

"I…I…I didn't mean—"

"We should get Pebblepaw to Barkface as quickly as possible. It looks like he'll be alright if he just gets some cobweb around this." Cloudfur reported. Shadowwind nodded, glared at Shortpaw, and with Cloudfur's help started to carry Pebblepaw back to the camp. It seemed the apprentice was getting dizzy with blood loss.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shortpaw asked. Shadowwind turned around.

"You've done quite enough. Go back to camp and help the elders. But take a different route than us – the last think Pebblepaw needs now is you walking around." Shortpaw nodded, sadly, and started off back to camp.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It had been three days since the training event. Shadowwind had been in a furious mood ever since, and Cloudfur was a bit more distant about taking Shortpaw training since. Apparently Pebblepaw had been recovering well, and his tail was likely to stay on his body. Shortpaw was relieved, of course, but he couldn't help but feel…disappointed. Like only half the job was done. He shook his head; thoughts like that couldn't be normal.

Cloudfur was out with the dawn patrol, and three other patrols were already out – another for borders, and two for hunting. Shortpaw was left at the camp with a few warriors he didn't know, and absolutely nothing to do. So he decided to see how Pebblepaw was going.

As he entered the medicine cat den, Barkface gave him a wary look. He allowed Shortpaw to come in, but kept a level glare at him the whole time.

"Hey, Pebblepaw." Shortpaw mewed.

"Hello…Shortpaw…" Pebblepaw replied, thoroughly vexed. His eyes had dark rims under them – it didn't look like he'd slept since coming here. His tail was healing very quickly, but it looked like his mind had a long way to go.

"I'm sorry about the training session…" Shortpaw said, looking at his paws. Pebblepaw shook his head.

"That's okay. It's a hard technique to learn… Hopefully next time we'll be doing something a bit more sheathed." There was an awkward silence. Barkface started grumpily sorting his supplies.

"Well, thanks for coming to see me." Pebblepaw mewed. "Hopefully I'll see you out there again soon."

"Bye," Shortpaw dipped his head and left. On his way out he saw Shadowwind re-entering the camp on his own. He realized he hadn't spoken to his own father for three days…surely he couldn't still be angry.

"Hey, Shadow—"

"What do you want?" Shadowwind hissed back. "I'm sure there's some giant tail for you to be stealing, rather than talking to me. Shoo!" The warrior stormed off, back out of the camp. Shortpaw had noticed something strange about him…not just his unnatural crankiness, but there was just something [i]_different_[/i] about him.

"That was pretty rude of him." Brookpaw commented, suddenly behind Shortpaw. Streakpaw was with her – why hadn't he noticed the two of them before? The patrols started to come back to the camp, one after another. Shadowwind returned with one of the hunting patrols, carrying a huge rabit in his jaw. Shortpaw sighed. Gorsestar was pacing around the camp, looking anxious. Hardly any time after the patrols arrived, without time for any cat to grab their own prey, Gorsestar called a Clan meeting. There was general confusion – why did he call a meeting so suddenly?

"Cats of WindClan, thank you for joining me here today. Sorry to have called you to a meeting so quickly, but I have some things to discuss. For one, Otterstream has passed away." There were shocked and upset gasps through the Clan – he was a much-respected elder. "But on a lighter note, Ripplebrook has informed us that she is going to have kits. This will affect her apprentice, Longpaw's, training. So until Ripplebrook is ready to assume her role as a warrior again, Longpaw's mentoring will be passed onto another cat."

Whispers went around at once – who would the new mentor be?

"Thistletail," Gorsestar called out. The she-cat looked around, surprised. "You have been a loyal warrior and an excellent hunter. I would like you to pass these skills on to Longpaw until Ripplebrook is willing to resume her role as mentor." Thistletail's mouth hung open. Obviously she hadn't been expecting this.

"Thank you!" She quickly spluttered out.

"That brings an end to this Clan meeting. Now, please eat." The Clan willingly obliged. Thistletail was chatting away as she left. Shortpaw tried to hold back laughter – was it really that much of a big deal?

The apprentices sat together to share their meal, then busied themselves with their usual tasks. Sparkshine, the only other elder, was in a very bad mood. She made them check her through twice for ticks, and complained about so many aches they eventually had to fetch Barkface. He quickly diagnosed nothing was wrong, and gave her several poppy seeds to go to sleep.

It wasn't long before she drifted off on her new bedding, with thoroughly tick-lacking fur.

"Hey," Pebblepaw greeted, coming in. "Oh, looks like you've already done everything…"

"That's okay, you can miss out on apprentice duties once in a while," Longpaw greeted. "How's your tail?"

"Oh? Much better, thanks." Pebblepaw swished it around a few times for added effect. It was quite…odd. "Is there anything else we're needed for?" The others all glanced at each other. There didn't seem much time left to do anything.

"Maybe we should ask Gorsestar," Whirlpaw suggested. Gorsestar quickly assigned Whirlpaw, Brookpaw and Streakpaw to go on the patrol later on, and that there was nothing else to do today.

* * *

The following day, Shortpaw, Longpaw and Streakpaw had gone out for battle training. They had covered a lot of the various moves and techniques, and covered a lot of ground over the day – needless to say, the three apprentices were really tired. By the time they arrived back in the camp, their paws were almost ready to give up on them. Not even bothering to get something from the fresh-kill pile, they went to the apprentice den.

At must have been close to moonhigh, when Shortpaw heard some cat sneaking in. He tensed – was it a ShadowClan attacker, come to kill them in their sleep? He considered looking up to see who it was, but quickly realized how stupid that idea seemed when faced with a cat taught to kill. There was a whisper on the other side of the den, and then he could hear the mysterious cat go to leave.

[i]_That was strange…_[/i] Shortpaw thought. Why would a ShadowClan attacker sneak into the apprentice den, whisper something, and then leave? And why did that ShadowClan attacker seem so unlike a ShadowClan attacker?

And then it clicked.

They carried a WindClan scent.


	5. Chapter 4

NOTE: Thanks very much for your review! Sorry for the confusion about timelines; it's somewhat of an inside joke of mine with some friends from another site. I might have done well to point that out in the first place. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint…

Chapter Four

"Today, we shall assess your training so far," Shadowwind explained. His voice was shallow, as if he didn't care what he was teaching the apprentices, and he had better things to do with his time. "You will go and catch as much prey as you can. Clawstreak and I shall watch on as best we can. We will give no hints as to who we are watching. Regardless, it is almost impossible to cheat on our territory. Now, go!"

Shortpaw, Whirlpaw, Longpaw and Streakpaw ran out into four different directions. At first Shortpaw wondered why the mentors didn't tell them where to go, but then he realized how idiotic that would be on such open territory. He quickly spotted a rabbit, about a fox-length from its burrow. He pelted straight for it, leaped through the air and killed it with a swift blow. It was a lot easier than he thought it would be, especially under such pressure.

The day passed on without anything too different. Shortpaw failed to catch another rabbit after another rabbit, and eventually went back to get his kill from before. But upon arriving at the spot he had left it (and he was sure it was the spot he had left it), the little body was gone.

"What…?" he whispered, somewhat astounded. He looked left and right, blinked a few times, and shook his head. "Whirlpaw? Longpaw? Streakpaw?" He called out, but there was no response – the other apprentices must be forever away. Then something dawned on him. He slowly turned around, to see the body of the rabbit he had killed before. And standing next to it was another rabbit. He glared at the living rabbit – how [i]_dare_[/i] it ruin his examination?!

He leaped at it, taking the white fluffy beast by surprise, and killed it quickly. But he wasn't done with this pest…oh, no, he would [i]_enjoy_[/i] this kill…

* * *

"Shortpaw? What are you doing?!" Clawstreak called out to the apprentice slowly padding back towards the camp. He was covered in blood, but there wasn't a piece of prey in sight. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm…fine…" Shortpaw replied, twitching manically.

"Then what about the…" Clawstreak tried, but Shortpaw was already half-way towards the apprentice den. Clawstreak sighed. Something was troubling that apprentice…

* * *

"Hey, Shortpaw," Streakpaw said, entering the apprentice den. Though it was a sunny day and there was nothing more to do, Shortpaw didn't feel like laying outside in the sun. He had failed the hunting assessment miserably, and he wasn't forgiving himself for it. Shadowwind had given him a massive lecture, and he was still feeling incredibly depressed from it.

"Mm," he grunted in response, and the other apprentice came to sit next to him. A bit of time passed before either of them spoke again.

"It's no big deal," he pointed out kindly, "I failed too."

"Yeah, I guess…" Shortpaw still wasn't sure. It might have just been Shadowwind's disapproval, but he was feeling really down.

"Come out! There's heaps of fresh-kill and Whirlpaw and Brookpaw are already out there." Shortpaw looked up, eyes wide. "She doesn't mind either." Streakpaw added, quickly getting to his paws, and starting towards the entrance to the den. Shortpaw followed after him, slightly reluctant.

"Good day, sir!" Brookpaw called out as soon as he left the den. She jumped up to come and greet them. Whirlpaw looked rather taken aback – it looked like they'd been in the middle of a conversation.

"Hey, Streakpaw." Brookpaw added once she reached them. "How's your day been?"

"Fine, thanks, and yours?" Streakpaw asked much too quickly. Brookpaw started talking about her day, and in a spare moment Streakpaw winked at Shortpaw – he was sticking up for him.

"…so that's my day!" Brookpaw concluded. Whirlpaw looked as if she'd already heard the story and regretted coming over.

"That's great!" Streakpaw said, for lack of anything else. They heard Longpaw's voice, and looked over towards the entrance to the camp. Her and Thistletail had just walked in and deposited their fresh-kill onto the pile. They were laughing together – it looked like Thistletail had been a great mentor to Longpaw so far.

"She treats Longpaw like a daughter," Whirlpaw said, quietly. "I'm not sure whether it's because of the honour of being a mentor so young, because she's glad to be helping a friend, or because she actually likes Longpaw, but they're really close."

"I think it's kind of nice." Brookpaw commented.

"Reminds me of my great mentor, Shadowwind!" Pebblepaw suddenly called out from behind them. Nobody had heard him coming, and the words had been quite alarming. Shortpaw's stomach churned, though. Why did his father hate him so much, yet seemed to like Pebblepaw? It didn't make any sense. He sighed, as the conversation bent to include Pebblepaw, and absently slipped out to the side.

"Shortpaw, nice work out there! What were you trying to do, steal the rabbit's tail to make up for yours?" A warrior called out. Shortpaw glanced over to see a group of warriors. Birchstripe, a senior warrior, was the one who had called out. He was upset to notice Shadowwind was among them. Shortpaw unsheathed his claws and dug them into the ground, ignoring the warriors' laughter.

"Cloudfur must be disappointed, having such a useless apprentice," Shadowwind decided, just loud enough for Shortpaw to hear.

"You must be disappointed having such a useless kit," Birchstripe added in.

"I suppose so," Shadowwind put in, laughing. Shortpaw pulled his claws out of the ground and ran – he couldn't cope with this.

* * *

"Er…Shortpaw? Wake up," Streakpaw's voice interrupted his dreams. He lazily woke up, and glanced around. It was almost sun-high!

"I feel like I've been sleeping forever… And my head is killing me…" Shortpaw complained, dizzily.

"No wonder! They say you were out until past moon-high hunting. Apparently you brought back over ten rabbits! You just kept coming back and leaving – everyone thought you'd gone crazy."

Shortpaw stared into space, confused. He didn't remember any of it. Maybe crazy was the right word after all…


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Okay, thanks to our surprise moon-high hunting patrol, there is very little need to fill up the fresh-kill pile," Cloudfur informed the assembled apprentices. "So today we will all be doing battle training. Myself, Shortpaw, Thistletail, Longpaw, Swiftheart and Brookpaw will go towards the Highstones, while the others will go in the opposite direction. We'll all meet here before sun-down so the apprentice duties can be done."

The group Shortpaw was in set out towards the Highstones. Shortpaw found himself surprisingly sad that Streakpaw wasn't coming with them – without noticing, he had quickly become a friend. That said, he was glad to have Brookpaw coming. And Longpaw, too! It seemed today's training session would be alright.

The six of them headed out to Highstones, making discussion as they went. Shortpaw noticed on the way how little he'd spoken to Longpaw; she was turning out to be a very likable cat. The two she-cats chatted as they went, though Shortpaw didn't say much. He still had the revelation of his late hunting session on his mind. [i]_What in StarClan's name went on?_ [/i]

Eventually they arrived at a place open enough to practise their battling moves. The mentors instructed that they would show them what they had learned so far, to make sure the moves they had taught them were actually rubbing in. Longpaw and Brookpaw went first. The two apprentices seemed to have easily mastered every move they'd been taught. After a while, Brookpaw triumphantly pinned Longpaw down, and looked up at the mentors, grinning.

"Well done, Brookpaw!" Swiftheart complimented.

"And well done Longpaw," Thistletail added warmly. "You've practised your moves very well." Longpaw smiled as soon as she had regained her own footing.

Cloudfur nodded, satisfied. "Shortpaw, you can practise your moves with—"

"I hope you don't mind if I sit in on this one," Gorsestar mewed. Nobody had heard him approach. Cloudfur nodded again dumbly. "Thank you." Gorsestar replied, and sat down nearby. Everyone was still watching him. "Oh, don't mind me," he continued, smiling politely.

"Yes… So, Shortpaw, you can practise with Brookpaw." Cloudfur decided, and went to sit by Gorsestar. The other mentors and Longpaw followed him.

"You can begin any time now," Gorsestar mewed, politely. Shortpaw and Brookpaw turned to face each other. In a mere moment before they locked eyes, Brookpaw sprung forwards, taking Shortpaw by surprise. He darted out of the way, and she landed behind him. Shortpaw turned around and swung at her with a sheathed claw. Brookpaw rolled underneath his paw and tried to knock his legs out from underneath him, but he rolled to the side.

The two continued to leap and swing at each other for a short while. Things seemed to be more intense than any training session Shortpaw had ever had, but he was enjoying it for some strange reason. It seemed to be forever before Brookpaw pinned Shortpaw down. The same way she'd beaten Longpaw! Shortpaw allowed himself to go limp, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

"Congratulations, Brookpaw! It certainly seems you've—" Gorsestar begun, but Shortpaw had knocked Brookpaw over. In the moment he had before she could get up, Shortpaw held her down with his paws. She tried in turn to play dead, but he kept his grip vigilant.

"Well done, Shortpaw!" Gorsestar remarked, looking quite surprised. "You fought like a much older apprentice today. You have my congratulations."

"Th-thank you," Shortpaw stammered, dipping his head.

"Now, I believe we should all head back to camp. The apprentice duties still need to be done, and some of you will be on the next patrol." Gorsestar stood up and started back in the direction of the camp. Cloudfur immediately jumped up and followed him – the mentor seemed very upset for some reason. Longpaw seemed somewhat in shock as she came to join the other apprentices.

"Is something wrong?" Brookpaw asked, not unkindly. Longpaw glanced after the warriors and leader. Cloudfur turned his head and blinked slowly at her, then resumed his walk.

"Oh, no, nothing. Sorry, I was just amazed by your battle! Well done!"

"Thanks! I thought it was really fun," Brookpaw inputted. "Didn't you, Shortpaw?" He agreed, nodding his head quickly, and continued walking back towards camp. He couldn't get something off his mind… Not the failed training assignment, or his amazing victory… He couldn't stop thinking about Brookpaw. He'd enjoyed their training session a lot, for some reason, and she'd always been kind to him, even though the rest of the Clan seemed to have their evident hate.

"Are you awake?" Longpaw interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, sorry if I interrupted anything! I was just wondering if you want to come hunting with us tomorrow."

"Uh, sure, thanks." Shortpaw stammered out quickly.

"Excellent. We'll leave as soon as the apprentice duties are done tomorrow." She explained, and the conversation quickly moved on to other things. It was nearing sun-down when they returned to the camp, and the other training group had already started their duties.

"Oh no, we're late…" Brookpaw complained. "Sparkshine is going to claw our fur off!" She quickly ran towards the medicine cat den, looking for moss.

"I…think I'll see if the apprentice den's bedding needs replacing." Longpaw decided, and ran off to the apprentice den. Shortpaw was left alone considering what to do. Maybe he could help Brookpaw with Sparkleshine… But he was sure she could handle that on her own.

"Shortpaw, I would like to see you in my den," Gorsestar instructed. Shortpaw jumped – what was wrong? Did he want to see him about the hunting assessment? Was he not good enough to be a warrior? Would he be kicked out of WindClan?!

"If you don't mind, Shortpaw, now would be nice." Gorestar mewed patiently, standing outside of his den. Shortpaw quickly jumped up and followed him over.

"I have something very important I would like to talk to you about," Gorsestar began, keeping level eye contact. Shortpaw cracked.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kill it, I just don't know what I was doing…please let me stay in WindClan!" There was a pause.

"It looks like we have a few other things to talk about… But for now, I would like to talk about your mentor, Cloudfur. I've been monitoring your progress carefully, and I think you might need a more suited mentor."

"I…I don't understand." Shortpaw stammered.

"Shortpaw, I shall be your new mentor."


	7. Chapter 6

Well, the last line… I honestly just wanted to use that dialogue. 

______________________________________________________________________

Chapter Six

For once, Shortpaw was up early in the morning in high spirits. Some time had passed since Gorsestar became his mentor, and the young apprentice was quickly growing into a fine warrior.

"Hey, Shortpaw," Streakpaw mewed lazily, waking up beside him.

"Hey, Streakpaw," Shortpaw replied. Streakpaw had become like a best friend to him – they did everything from battle training to border patrols together. "Sleep well?"

"Very! What do you think we'll be doing today?" he asked.

"I'm not sure… Maybe hunting or something." Shortpaw suggested. Streakpaw nodded.

"Good morning," Longpaw slurred, seeming half-asleep. The toms replied in kind, and Longpaw joined in the discussion of what they might be doing today. Gradually, the whole Clan woke up. Brookpaw was one of the last to awaken – Shortpaw quickly made a mental note to ask her about the Gathering last night. She came over to where the other apprentices were sitting, and lay beside Shortpaw. Pebblepaw and Whirlpaw were talking with Shadowwind over on the other side of the camp.

Their little group depressed Shortpaw slightly… Pebblepaw was Pebblepaw, and his father had always been the same… But he'd always thought of Whirlpaw more highly than that. He wondered why she had got sucked into that crowd, sighing deeply.

"Are you alright?" Longpaw asked, not unkindly.

"Uh, yes, fine." Shortpaw replied, shaking his head to dispel his thoughts.

"Cats of WindClan, gather for a Clan meeting!" Gorsestar called out. Larger Clan meetings had become customary to assign patrols and the such; it seemed singling cats out was too confusing. "For the dawn patrol, I will assign three groups of cats. One to patrol RiverClan's borders, and two to patrol ShadowClan's." Shadowwind hissed quietly.

"What? Why?" He demanded, angrily.

"ShadowClan showed signs of hostility at the Gathering last night, and I think it is imperative that we keep an eye on them. I will lead one of the patrols. With me, I will take Reedwhisker, Shadowwind, Pebblepaw, Longpaw and Shortpaw. I will leave it up to Lionfang to bring whichever cats he would like on the second ShadowClan patrol, and I will trust Clawstreak to lead the RiverClan one." Gorsestar stepped away to allow Clawstreak and Lionfang to assemble their patrols, and waited for his own to come to him.

"I still think this is a really stupid idea," Shadowwind complained, his fur bristling.

"That doesn't matter. All that matters is that ShadowClan and WindClan don't go to war. As long as we can hold them off at the borders, all shall remain well." Shadowwind grunted, unsatisfied. The six of them set out towards the ShadowClan border, in silence.

They patrolled the border and renewed their scent markers, but there seemed to be no sign of ShadowClan. It wasn't too long before they met up with Lionfang's patrol, who also claimed to see no sign of ShadowClan.

"There seems to be something wrong…" Shortpaw mewed, worried. He couldn't quite place it, but something felt sort of…out of place.

"Shortpaw's right." Longpaw added, decisively. "There's definitely something wrong."

"I can feel it too," Gorsestar agreed, nodding his head. "We'll patrol the border a couple more times, then head back. Stay in the same groups, and if anything seems even remotely wrong send at least one cat to the other group." The assembled cats nodded briefly, and set off in opposite directions.

"Something is definitely wrong," Reedwhisker stated, shivering. It wasn't cold, or anything. Just…dark.

"Attack!" A voice hissed from the bushes, and four dark shapes jumped out, grabbing onto Gorsestar, Reedwhisker, Longpaw and Shortpaw. The warrior who grabbed Shortpaw was huge! He pinned him down with claws unsheathed. Shortpaw felt the claws digging into his pelt, drawing blood. He tried to play dead, but the warrior wasn't fooled.

"Raggedstar," Gorsestar could be heard saying. Realizing he wasn't going to kill him, Shortpaw craned his head around to see the leaders. Gorsestar was facing Raggedstar, and the two were slowly circling each other.

"Gorsestar. Your end is near. Your warriors can't help you now; prepare to die!" The ShadowClan leader unsheathed his claws and leaped at Gorsestar. Gorsestar rolled to the side in a fluent movement, scarcely losing his footing. Raggedstar, however, was already there and succeeded in catching Gorsestar's face with his claw. Gorsestar fell to the ground, bleeding heavily. [i]_Was he going to lose a life?!_[/i]

"Shadowwind…Pebblepaw…Please help Reedwhisker, Shortpaw and Longpaw," Gorsestar begged.

"Unlikely," Shadowwind replied, calmly. He blinked slowly. "I'm amazed none of you noticed. I have been working with ShadowClan for a very long time. Sorry, but it just seems like their offer is more beneficial."

"But what about your family? What about the warrior code?" Gorsestar demanded. Raggedstar was holding back for the time being, clearly enjoying himself.

"My useless kit and a bunch of words uttered by dead cats? You can't expect that to keep me faithful to the losing side." He continued, still completely calm. Pebblepaw was standing beside him, looking exactly the same. Being Pebblepaw, though, he was probably trying to imitate Shadowwind's cool attitude. Shortpaw felt sadness wash over him. His own father had betrayed the Clan…and even now, he was calling him useless.

"Sorry to interrupt this touching moment," Raggedstar muttered, drily, "but it has fast become very boring. Now if you excuse me, Gorsestar, I have a Clan to take over." He lifted his claw to deliver another blow to the WindClan leader when Streakpaw leaped through the bushes, knocking him off his paws. The ShadowClan leader stood up, infuriated.

"How dare an apprentice attack me?" he hissed.

"How dare you attack my leader?" Streakpaw countered, keeping his gaze on Raggedstar. Gorsestar stood beside the WindClan apprentice, in a threatening position.

"Ugh… Help me, you fools!" Raggedstar spat. The ShadowClan warriors holding Longpaw, Shortpaw and Reedwhisker jumped up to where Raggedstar was, quickly joined by Shadowwind and Pebblepaw.

The suddenly freed WindClan apprentices rushed to join Streakpaw and Gorsestar, while Reedwhisker struggled to stand up due to a harsh wound on his leg.

"What are the odds of your victory, Gorsestar?" Raggedstar taunted, suddenly surrounded by his followers. "Eight of us against you and four little apprentices. So what's your genius plan to win this one, old friend?"

"Haven't the foggiest," Gorsestar replied, and sprung at the ShadowClan leader.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

As soon as Gorsestar attacked, the two Clans leaped into action. ShadowClan had clearly thought the battle through well; one warrior took one apprentice, and the rest went directly to fight Gorsestar. Reedwhisker was definitely too injured to fight; it truly looked like a futile battle.

Pebblepaw came straight at Shortpaw, claws unsheathed and eyes dark. He pounced nimbly, aiming straight for Shortpaw's throat, and the far smaller apprentice had to knock his paws away with his own.

"What are you doing?!" Shortpaw hissed, as he deflected several more swings.

"Shadowwind said WindClan was the losing side, so I'm not going to deal with you anymore!" Pebblepaw cried out, scarcely heard in the heat of the battle. Shortpaw stole a moment to see Shadowwind in battle with Streakpaw. His stomach churned.

"But why did you have to go? Pebblepaw, you've always been too smart to join sides. Please stick with us now." Shortpaw lied – his quick adding had told him that if Pebblepaw rejoined their side, the battles would be evened out…to a degree. Pebblepaw stopped attacking for the moment, and stared at Shortpaw.

"N-No! I'll do anything for my brilliant mentor!" the gray apprentice screeched, and attacked again. Shortpaw continued to deflect his attacks and dodge as quickly as he could, but if it came down to it, Pebblepaw was a stronger and more experienced apprentice. He stood no chance. Quickly glancing to the side he saw Longpaw about a fox-length away. She noticed his presence too, and nodded quickly. [i]_If we can reach each other…_[/i] he began to plot, but Pebblepaw took another lunge at him.

Shortpaw dived as strongly to the side as possible. Compared to his usual tactic of a small jump and then a retaliating attack, this strange manoeuvre took Pebblepaw by surprise. Shortpaw leaped up again as close to Longpaw as he could get without putting her in more danger, and faced Pebblepaw again. The warrior attacking Longpaw was a massive black tom – the same one who had attacked Shortpaw before! He saw the same recognition in the warrior's eyes.

It wasn't long before Pebblepaw caught up with Shortpaw, and renewed his attack. Longpaw was holding off the opposing warrior skilfully, so Shortpaw doubted she needed too much help at the moment. He sprung at Pebblepaw, and knocked him down to the ground. As the other apprentice struggled to get up, Shortpaw held him down with the same technique Brookpaw had held him down all those training sessions ago. He was amazed that he managed it with the same skill she had.

Pebblepaw made a very strange, deflated noise and played dead. Obviously, Shortpaw was not going to fall for that, so he pushed his claws in further. But there was no reaction. Pebblepaw had actually fainted. He sighed with relief, but the celebration didn't last long.

"Shortpaw, help?" Longpaw called out. He spun around to see the tom had advanced dramatically on her, and seemed ready to make a kill. Shortpaw leaped over, intending to knock the tom off Longpaw, but fell short. Luckily this caused a distraction, and the warrior looked away long enough for Longpaw to deliver a very painful-looking strike at his muzzle.

Shortpaw joined in the assault, and the two apprentices quickly made ground on attacking the warrior. It wasn't too long until Longpaw got a dangerous shot in, and the warrior retreated into the shadows of ShadowClan's territory.

"Thanks," Longpaw gasped out, breathing heavily.

"No problems," Shortpaw replied, much the same. Two yowls of pain erupted from different points – one belonged to Gorsestar, who was battling off three ShadowClanners at once, and the other from Streakpaw who wasn't faring well against Shadowwind. Longpaw brushed lightly against Shortpaw as she ran in the direction of Gorsestar. Shortpaw felt his head spin slightly. Did she… No, there was no time for that! He quickly darted over to where Streakpaw was being held down by Shadowwind.

"Fox dung!" Shortpaw spat, as he charged into his father, knocking him from Streakpaw's side. He repeated the insult as he repeatedly lashed out at the warrior's underbelly with his claws. Shadowwind was bleeding significantly before he managed to regain his footing. "What in StarClan's name do you think you're doing, betraying Gorsestar?!" Shortpaw screamed.

"Shortpaw, WindClan is the losing side. You don't—"

"Yes, I [i]_do_[/i] understand! But your stupid selfish needs shouldn't make you choose victory over your own friends…over your own family."

"Don't try this petty speech on me now, Shortpaw. You should realize it's futile. I put a lot of planning into this, and I won't let you mess it up." Shortpaw's eyes narrowed. All that time ago…the warrior who had snuck into the apprentices' den…that was…[i]_Shadowwind_[/i]? The treacherous warrior as grinning in front of him, dark blood dripping from his mouth. He'd been severely injured. His claws were still unsheathed, and the older tom shifted into a threatening position, and collapsed.

[i]_I should help him…_[/i] Shortpaw thought. But glancing around, there were more cats that needed his help. He took a last glance at his father, and darted back into the battle. Cats had moved away from Gorsestar, and now he was facing Raggedstar alone. But he was stalling – Gorsestar had been ripped up considerably and the ShadowClan leader was still absolutely fine. Raggedstar simply stalked over to him, struck him with an unsheathed claw, and Gorsestar fell, unmoving.

Shortpaw's eyes widened as, a moment later, his leader's body started shuddering violently. Raggedstar stood over him, eyes glittering with madness. Gorsestar was losing a life. Shortpaw stared for another moment, contemplating joining the fight, when Streakpaw let out another yowl of pain. Furthermore spontaneously, he charged off to his friend's side.

The warrior who had his grip on Streakpaw immediately let go of the apprentice and turned to Shortpaw. It was a dark tom, with amber eyes. He was, compared even to many warriors Shortpaw had seen, massive. He leaped towards Shortpaw, and before he could do anything the warrior was at his throat. His claws sunk into Shortpaw's flesh painfully…[i]_Am I going to die here?_[/i]

It seemed like an eternity the tom held Shortpaw down. He could hear the battle raging all around him…the screeching and yowling as warrior fought warrior… His vision began to blur, and the last image Shortpaw remembered seeing before he lost consciousness was Longpaw, fighting with Raggedstar.


	9. Chapter 8

I knew someone would ask about Raggedstar… Another one of my totally non-canon twists. In this Fanfiction, he is decidedly the one who started the war against WindClan. You'll find out more later on.

Apologies in advance for this chapter… It might be considered a bit manic/bloodthirsty to some.

Chapter Eight

Shadowwind was the first thing Shortpaw saw when he woke up. He leaped up from where he lay and screamed. His father and Pebblepaw was standing before him, cut and bloodied but otherwise fine. The traitors were staring at him darkly, as if waiting for him to move.

"Shortpaw," Shadowwind began, "you're awake."

"Where am I?" Shortpaw asked, glancing around. The trees around him were huge, and cast dark shadows on the ground where he stood. Shadowwind and Pebblepaw seemed several shades darker than usual, and he was mostly relying on their outlines for their identities.

"You're deep in ShadowClan territory. A long way from home now," Shadowwind continued. He unsheathed his claws. "And we'll say I have a little agreement with them."

"A-agreement?" Shortpaw stammered.

"If I led Gorsestar into an ambush, then I could do whatever I wished to you. And to me, that sounds like an absolutely fine deal."

"Why?" Shortpaw hissed, his words seeming to go on forever in the darkness. "Why do you hate me so much?" Shadowwind glared and dug his claws into the ground, but his eyes didn't only show hate. They showed…a sort of sadness.

"Robinsong…" he began.

"My mother… Your mate," Shortpaw urged him to continue.

"Hah," Shadowwind laughed, his tone bitter. "She was no mate of mine." Shortpaw's head spun. [i]_Shadowwind isn't my father?_[/i] Shadowwind stared at him levelly. "Didn't you ever wonder why I never visited you as a kit? Why I have hated you, the whole time you've been an apprentice? What, did you think I wanted you to turn out well? Don't make me laugh."

"Who…who was my father?" Shortpaw stammered, feeling sick from the revelations.

"Some rogue. Your mother came to the Clan expecting you."

"Came?"

"Didn't she ever tell you? She used to be a kittypet. Her Twolegs kicked her out when they found out she was having kits, so she came to the Clans. She never wanted to be here, she just came and it was convenient for her."

"But…But you loved her," Shortpaw tried, almost willing it to be true.

"Lies. I promised her I would pretend, and everyone believed it was true. It had hardly been a moon by the time she joined WindClan; you were just presumed early. The only one who didn't believe us was that idiot medicine cat, Thrushpelt… But of course, she didn't last long." He smiled maliciously.

"Great mentor," Pebblepaw asked suddenly and very loudly, making Shadowwind almost jump out of his pelt. "Why did you kill the medicine cat?"

"Shut up, Pebblepaw. I killed her because she was too stupid to just believe that I was Shortpaw's father."

"Okay. Good idea, mentor!" There was a pause in which Shadowwind sighed inwardly.

"How did you leave the battle without anyone noticing?" Shortpaw asked, his voice wavering. He was just stalling time…and he knew it.

"As soon as I saw you fall unconscious, I dropped the act. Pebblepaw and I pulled you away, and not a cat noticed. That said, by that time there weren't many cats left standing." Suddenly, Shortpaw's stomach churned. [i]_Longpaw!_[/i] She'd been fighting Raggedstar… Was she…dead?

"You… Killed them…" Shortpaw said, slowly. His eyes were wide as he looked up at the warrior he had known as a father. "It's your fault they died! Everything is your fault!" He unsheathed his claws and leaped at Shadowwind. The warrior dashed forwards to retaliate, but Shortpaw kicked out with his hind-paws. He knocked Shadowwind to the ground, and quickly spun around again. Before Shadowwind could regain his footing, he tore out with his claw…

…and the warrior's tail fell smoothly off. Shadowwind yowled with pain as he turned to face Shortpaw again. Yowls of "No, mentor, no!" could be heard from Pebblepaw, who was practically hysterical with shock. Shortpaw slashed at Shadowwind's muzzle, feeling an odd satisfaction as blood drew to the surface and splattered on the forest floor.

"Shortpaw…I…" Shadowwind coughed out, "…shouldn't have…" He collapsed on the ground. Dead.

"Mentor, no!" Pebblepaw squeaked pitifully. Shortpaw stared at the apprentice as he made his way to his recently departed mentor's side. Pebblepaw had been an apprentice with him his whole life. Yet they had never been friends…Pebblepaw had always disliked Shortpaw for some reason. And now he knew why. Finally it all made [i]_sense_[/i]. Shortpaw laughed, darkly, which caught Pebblepaw's attention.

"You think this is funny? You think killing my great amazing mentor is [i]_funny?!_[/i]" the hysterical cat demanded.

"You have no idea," Shortpaw replied, voice cracked.

Pebblepaw's scream could be heard through the whole of ShadowClan territory.

[center]* * *[/center]

Longpaw dashed through the dark trees, hardly stopping to scent the air around her. Shadowwind, Pebblepaw and Shortpaw went this way…she was sure of it. But the scream – had they met danger? If there was a fox or something in ShadowClan's territory then they would need help dealing with it. The battle had finally ended, with Raggedstar calling his warriors to retreat. Gorsestar held his ground, though down two lives. Of course Longpaw had been the first to notice that Shortpaw was gone, and immediately picked up the scent marks.

Then Shortpaw's scent mark hit her. He was close. She stopped immediately, and carefully padded forward. Shortpaw was in the middle of a small uneven clearing, his eyes open wide. His entire form was covered in blood. [i]_Good,_[/i] she thought, [i]_looks like he dealt with the fox okay._[/i] Then she noticed something else.

Shadowwind and Pebblepaw's dead bodies beside him. She gasped as everything clicked. Shortpaw had…killed them?

"Shortpaw?" she asked, stepping out from the trees. Shortpaw's head snapped up upon seeing her, and he started slowly stepping towards her. "What in StarClan's name are you doing?" she demanded, keeping her claws sheathed. There was no reason to attack…no reason to attack…everything was fine…

"Shortpaw, talk to me," she demanded, starting to panic slightly. "Shortpaw!" The other didn't listen. He just kept up his steady pace towards her, eyes ready to kill. "Shortpaw, please…" she begged. He didn't listen. It was as if he was in a trance. A mere fox-length from her, he stopped.

"Shortpaw!" She called out. He leaped towards her, and she quickly darted to the side. He turned to look at her, and she struck at his muzzle. Shortpaw looked stunned for a moment. [i]_Oh no… I hurt him, I hurt him…_[/i]

He stood there staring into space for several moments, then his eyes slowly began to close. Shortpaw slowly turned to look at Longpaw.

"…Longpaw," he said, sounding delusional, and collapsed.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Shortpaw, accompanied by Longpaw, returned to WindClan. There was absolute silence as he entered the camp, until Gorsestar spotted the two apprentices. The two of them had spent the night on the WindClan border – it had been far too late to walk back and Shortpaw had hardly been able to stand. Even now he was shaking madly, the strength of his realization weighing down on him.

"Shortpaw! Longpaw!" Gorestar exclaimed, limping towards them. Immediately heads turned and the members of WindClan approached. "Have you been o… Longpaw, take Shortpaw to Barkface immediately." Shortpaw nodded slowly, and Longpaw escorted him to the medicine cat's den.

As soon as they entered, Barkface's eyes grew wide with shock. He had never seemed to have liked Shortpaw, but seeing him in this state there was nothing more he could do. He indicated for Longpaw to leave them alone. She looked hesitant, but left.

Barkface immediately gave Shortpaw some strengthening herbs, which he gulped down and immediately threw up. The medicine cat sighed with irritation.

"You're feverish. For now you might have to sleep the most of it off, but once you wake up I'll give you some herbs for fever. I'll get some poppy seeds for now…" He left Shortpaw to find the herbs. It was a short while before Barkface returned with the poppy seeds, but already Shortpaw was in a worse state.

Barkface sighed to himself and opened Shortpaw's mouth for him. "If you have a scrap of sanity left, try to chew these." Shortpaw slowly blinked in agreement between spasms. Barkface watched as the apprentice's fits became slower and more drawn out, and eventually fell to sleep. He smiled to himself and went back to sorting herbs.

* * *

"Clan meeting," Barkface grunted, prodding Shortpaw with the end of his paw. Shortpaw roused, and sleepily left the den. He felt much better…the fever had gone while he slept. His stomach still churned at the memories, but he was getting generally better. He followed Barkface to where Gorsestar was standing, already surrounded by an assembly of cats.

Longpaw greeted him as soon as she saw him. "Shortpaw, good to—"

"Hey, Shortpaw! Are you okay?" Brookpaw cut in quickly. Longpaw looked slightly startled.

"Uh, yeah…"

"What happened?" She asked, sounding incredibly worried.

"Don't worry about it too much," he replied. Brookpaw looked somewhat disappointed, but nodded.

"Good to see you're feeling better," Longpaw mewed kindly.

"Thanks," Shortpaw replied.

"If you're done, we'll start the Clan meeting now," Gorsestar interrupted patiently. Shortpaw turned his head away, embarrassed. "Good. Now, yesterday, as most of you are well aware, there was a border clash with ShadowClan. Myself and some others were forced into battle when they ambushed them. None of our warriors died, but—"

"What about Shadowwind and Pebblepaw?" Robinsong called out.

"I was getting to that," Gorsestar mewed, his voice beginning to sadden. Silence gripped the assembled cats once more. Shortpaw began to wonder if Gorsestar could bring himself to go on, when it was suddenly broken. "Shadowwind and Pebblepaw are ShadowClan traitors." There were gasps and upset yowls from the assembled cats. Clearly this news did not go down well.

"And where are they now?" another cat called out.

"I don't know," Gorsestar confessed. They disappeared into ShadowClan's territory. Any of the other fighters in the battle who know anything about them, I invite you to step forth." The leader glanced across the assembled crowd, his eyes setting on Shortpaw for a moment. He nodded and stepped towards his den. The hubbub went back to normal.

"That was…really scary," Longpaw whispered. Shortpaw nodded, slightly dumbstruck. Gorsesrar knew. He definitely knew.

"Is something wrong, Shortpaw?" Brookpaw asked, brushing against Shortpaw. He cringed; though he still thought highly of her, he wasn't in the mood for closeness at the moment.

"He's fine," Longpaw interjected artfully. "In fact, he's planning on coming hunting with Thistletail and I."

"Can I come?" Brookpaw added in before they could get away.

"Brookpaw, I need to talk to you for a moment." Longpaw mewed, sadly. She quickly winked at Shortpaw and went away to talk with Brookpaw. Thistletail spotted the two of them, then Shortpaw. She approached him looking curious, but the apprentice quickly shook his head.

After a little while, Brookpaw nodded her head enthusiastically and went away. Longpaw came back to join them, greeting Thistletail warmly and saying that she had told Brookpaw that it might be better for Shortpaw to not be around people he didn't want to make mistakes with for a few days. Her explanation confused Shortpaw a bit, but he got the gist of it…Brookpaw seemed to be somewhat in love with him. The three cats started padding out further into their territory.

"So how did you both sleep?" Thistletail asked, cleverly avoiding the topic of the battle.

"I feel like I slept a moon! I swear my claws were aching after yesterday," Longpaw replied. Thistletail laughed, and repeated the question to Shortpaw.

"Well," he replied, simply. Thistletail nodded.

The hunting went surprisingly well. Longpaw and Thistletail caught a couple of rabbits, but Shortpaw ended up with four. In the end both of the others had to help him carry them back to camp.

"When did you get so good at hunting, Shortpaw?" Thistletail asked through a muffled mouthful of rabbit.

"Yeah, that was amazing!" Longpaw agreed. Shortpaw felt slightly warmer inside. Longpaw knew he killed Shadowwind and Pebblepaw…but she forgave him. And Thistletail didn't seem to at all seem to want to question his actions. He had really found friends who properly cared.

Once they returned to the camp, Robinsong was waiting for them. She looked as if her world had just come to its end. Shortpaw's stomach seized.

"I'll see you soon," Longpaw mewed upon seeing her. Thistletail shared her own farewell and went off with her apprentice. Shortpaw approached his mother.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked her. She turned to him, eyes clouded with sadness.

"Shortpaw…I know that you know what happened to him." She stared at him for a long moment. "You don't have to tell me anything, but I just want you to know that I'm here to listen and I won't judge you – no matter what happened."

Shortpaw took a deep breath.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Robinsong seemed depressed after her son's confession. Of course any cat would be depressed, but the weight of her unfaithfulness seemed to make the she-cat absolutely crushed. She couldn't concentrate on hunting, and failed her warrior duties with an utter lack of enthusiasm. Shortpaw felt terrible.

But strangely, Shortpaw's hunting had been better than ever. The five apprentices had been pushed to the max; some of them had been assessed for their warrior names, but there hadn't been any responses yet. Pebblepaw had been close to getting his. The jury was still out on how he had died – Longpaw vouched for Shortpaw, saying she found him in a clearing alone. At that point, Robinsong had stormed off to the warriors' den and refused to come out for the entire day.

Longpaw and Shortpaw had grown very close, very quickly. After the events post-battle, she became practically the only other apprentice Shortpaw wanted to talk to. Brookpaw seemed to just keep on asking if he was okay, like the battle was still going. Streakpaw and Whirlpaw just…didn't seem friends anymore. Longpaw was the only one he could truly rely on.

Thistletail had been good to him too. She and Longpaw continued to be as close as sisters, and now Shortpaw seemed to be in the tight circle as well. The three of them did practically everything together; it was nice to have a break from the harsh eyes and drilling questions of the rest of the Clan. It was nice to feel _free_.

But there were, of course, some days when he felt as trapped as ever. On one day, Gorsestar had decided to call all of the apprentices for a training bout. Naturally, this gave Brookpaw a chance to chat one-sidedly at Shortpaw all day. He swore if he got the chance that he would claw her face off. Streakpaw and Whirlpaw had been bearable today, though – they had kept to themselves. Longpaw was off training with Thistletail, so it seemed like an eternity until their own mentors came to train with them.

Gorsestar had never been much of a mentor, but his training really showed it. He didn't bother to explain the techniques, or how to counter, he just attacked. It was as if he was enjoying attacking his apprentice just for the sake of it. It seemed like forever until Shortpaw managed to grasp the concept of fighting back with the moves Cloudfur had taught him all those moons ago, and it took even longer for him to actually defeat Gorsestar. But today was the day…in front of Longpaw and Thistletail, it had to be the day.

And behold; it was the day. He knocked Gorsestar to the ground and pinned him under his sheathed claws. The leader smiled up at him.

"Very good," he appraised, and allowed himself to get up from under Shortpaw's grasp. He turned to survey the other training cats – remarkably, the apprentices seemed to be winning. Longpaw, especially, had beat Thistletail with ease (though Thistletail might have been going easy).

"Well fought, everyone," Gorsestar congratulated. "It looks like most of you are close to being awarded your warrior names!" There were happy mews through the cats both young and old. Shortpaw couldn't suppress his own satisfied purr. The leader turned to him, eyes dark. "We need more warriors to make up for all those who have died recently." He said, simply. Shortpaw wondered for a moment why Gorsestar had bothered to say this, but then it clicked. [i]_He has a hunch…_[/i]

"Everyone back to camp!" He called out, and the WindClan cats obliged willingly. They were all tired after the rough training and probably looking forward to a good sleep. Longpaw and Thistletail were whispering to each other hurriedly on the way back to camp. Thistletail kept glancing in his direction, and Longpaw looked uncomfortable. Shortpaw considered asking what they were talking about, but decided by the look on Longpaw's face that it could wait.

"Hey, Shortpaw! Well done in training today!" Brookpaw mewed, appearing beside him. Shortpaw couldn't suppress a sigh as he tried to reply.

"Hi, Brookpaw," he said with no enthusiasm. Brookpaw drifted from subject to subject, chatting non-stop. Shortpaw added in the required "oh yes"s, "mmm"s and "really?"s until eventually they reached camp again and she shut up to talk to Whirlpaw and Streakpaw. Shortpaw felt slightly guilty as he watched the other apprentices. Brookpaw and Streakpaw used to be close friends of his…until they drifted away. Suddenly Whirlpaw let out a loud mrrow of laughter, and his guilt turned immediately to hate – how _dare_ she replace him?!

"Shortpaw, Gorsestar asked if Longpaw and I could go hunting – do you want to come?" he turned to see Thistletail waiting for him with Longpaw. The others didn't matter anymore. He had his own friends.

The three left the camp. Thistletail was talking to Longpaw about the extra duties, but the only thing either of them could theorize was that it was because of less Clan members being around. Plus, with Ripplebrook's kits soon to be born and Seedspot's kits almost ready to be apprenticed, there were two more cats the Clan couldn't use as warriors… Until the new apprentices started their training, there would probably be extra duties.

"Have you met Seedspot's kits yet?" Thistletail asked Shortpaw.

"No, I didn't know she had any." He confessed.

"Well you'll meet them soon, I suppose. I hear they're nearly six moons now!" Longpaw answered for her mentor. "There are four of them, so hopefully the Clan will be full of new apprentices. I wonder who the mentors will be, though."

"Well, Birchstripe and Fogtail could mentor two of them. Reedwhisker is still recovering, Robinsong isn't exactly…herself lately, and I'm not sure if Cloudfur is ready for another apprentice yet. So unless one of them is planning to become a medicine cat, I'm not sure how the Clan will pull it off."

"Maybe they'll use some of their great new warriors!" Longpaw joked, holding her head up high. Thistletail mrrowed with laughter, but Shortpaw was thinking… What would he do if he had to mentor an apprentice?


	12. Chapter 11

I apologize, my adoring (and slightly less adoring) fans! My internet was…unavailable, no reason given, and I was unable to upload anymore chapters. I also have not written any more chapters. Updates will probably proceed as usual from here on, though you have my deepest apologies for my annoying absence.

Also, notably, I edited the Prologue so it includes a note, as SCWW so requested. He's credited to the theory, because it's an epic theory…and he came up with it. *cough*

Chapter Eleven

It was a dark day, and storm-clouds were rich in the sky. Gorsestar had just taken Shortpaw out for yet another hunting assessment, and he swore if he didn't get his warrior name soon he would go crazy. His muscles were aching and he was so ready to sleep by the time he returned to camp that he almost didn't see Robinsong passing by.

"Hello, Shortpaw…" she mewed, sounding faint…as if all of her life had been drained away.

"Hello, Robinsong," he replied firmly. She nodded as if approving of something that had little or no effect on her, and padded away staring at her paws. Shortpaw still felt terrible. Not for killing Shadowwind, but for telling her. He'd just needed someone to confide in, and then she asked him…

"Shortpaw, can I talk to you, please?" Longpaw asked, looking embarrassed. Thistletail was looking on, smiling, from a safe distance. _This can't be good…_

"Sure," he replied, and she turned around.

"In private, if you wouldn't mind. I don't want some people listening in." she shot a cheeky glance at Thistletail, who turned around and pretended to be playing with the ground. It didn't look very convincing. Shortpaw followed Longpaw into the apprentices' den, and the two of them sat on the ground there. Shortpaw had to fight off the temptation not to fall to sleep on the comfortable bedding…

"Sorry, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Shortpaw asked. Longpaw stared into space for a little while, before looking back at him and laughing loudly.

"Well I wasn't going to say anything, because I didn't know whether it was a bit deal or not, but then Thistletail told me to tell you anyway even if it wasn't a big deal just in case-"

"Longpaw, what are you talking about?" Shortpaw asked, far too tired to think as fast as she was babbling.

"Shortpaw, I love you." She mewed, staring at the ground. Shortpaw wasn't sure what to say.

"Th-thank you." He chanced, feeling incredibly awkward.

"That's okay… I won't force you to do anything. Now I think Thistletail wanted to go hunting… I'd better let you rest." She left the den quickly.

Shortpaw didn't know what to do… It really couldn't be such a big deal, could it? But what could he tell her? He didn't know what he felt… Did he feel the same way about Longpaw? These questions and dilemmas floated around in his mind seemingly forever as he lay in the apprentice's den. A thunderstorm had started outside, and eventually the gentle pattering of the rain helped him to sleep…

* * *

"Wake up! Shortpaw, wake up!" Brookpaw screamed. Shortpaw whipped up in a second – what was going on?

"What? Why did you wake me up?" he droned, sleepily, but the other apprentice was already gone. He contemplated going back to sleep, but Brookpaw seemed to have had a sort of urgency about her. She may have had the ability to speak a million words a day, but the tone of her voice had actually been somewhat…serious.

He crawled out of the den to see that it was a while since sun-down. The clouds were still looming over the sky, and the thunderstorm was still deeply in effect. Lightning pierced the skies at seemingly random intervals, briefly illuminating the camp for short amounts of time. Cats were running everywhere, as if they were under some sort of attack. Some where hysterical, some were angry, some were just silent.

Shortpaw followed the nearest cat he could see – Barkface, his scent told him – to a point where everyone seemed to be congregating.

"What's going on?" He asked Barkface as he ran.

"Shut up," the medicine cat tried to say without moving his mouth – he was carrying poppy seeds. Why was he carrying them? Shortpaw continued to follow him by scent, until he reached the mass of WindClan cats. Thistletail was in the center of them, looking as if she had just had her heart torn out.

"Thistletail, you have to tell us. What happened?" Robinsong demanded. It seemed she had pulled herself together to help Thistletail…but why?

"L-Longpaw…" Thistletail stammered. Her eyes seemed more distant than ever. "The gorge at RiverClan's territory…We were…and I…I couldn't…I couldn't…" Shortpaw's own eyes grew distant and his stomach caught in a knot. Thistletail looked as if something were caught in her throat. The whole Clan was silent with shock and grief. "She fell," Thistletail choked out, and panic was let loose.

Shortpaw was struck with fear and sadness. Longpaw had been his closest friend… Why had this had to happen? What had he done wrong to deserve _this_?!

"We should wait until Thistletail is better…" Lionfang mewed to Gorsestar. The leader nodded his head, sadly, and turned to the other Clan members.

"As some close friends need some assistance today, the vigil will be held tomorrow… There is no body, so the elders will not need to bury it. You may go back to your dens to sleep now."

"Shortpaw, I'm so sorry…" Brookpaw mewed, sympathetically. Her, Streakpaw and Whirlpaw were standing beside him, sadness clouding over them. But they didn't really understand. How could they?

"Go away." He hissed. "Leave me alone!" Streakpaw looked as if he was about to say something, but Shortpaw unsheathed his claws and hissed louder. The other apprentices slowly backed away, then hurried away to the apprentices' den to avoid the rain and get some sleep. Thistletail was hysterical, Ripplebrook and Robinsong escorting her to Barkface's den.

Everything had gone all wrong… One moment… One accident and Shortpaw's whole life felt meaningless. And the others were trying to be _sympathetic_. Did they know how it felt to lose the one cat they truly loved? Did they know… _I loved her…_ Shortpaw realized, feeling as if the burden of the world had suddenly been thrust upon his shoulders. He sagged to the ground, shivering not from the storm but from sadness, letting thought consume him…

Why had it really been so shocking? Why hadn't he just gone on the patrol with them? Why hadn't he just…told her?

"It's my fault…" Shortpaw murmured. It seemed longer than forever until sleep finally grasped him.


	13. Chapter 12

Well, this has been dead for a while… Until today when I suddenly felt like writing more! Upon writing chapter fourteen, I realized I've had twelve and thirteen sitting on my computer the whole time. Hehe, my bad.

Enjoy~

_____

Chapter Twelve

There was little sleep to be had that night. The next morning seemed to take an eternity to arrive and the booming thunder and crackling lightning persisted all night. Shortpaw hadn't cared. He had stared forward for the entire night, feeling the rain on his fur, thinking of the friend he had lost… By the next morning, he had scarcely closed his eyes again and felt somewhat disappointed by his lack of energy.

Before anything else had the chance to happen, Shortpaw could hear movement from the medicine cat den. He turned his head, expecting to see Barkface going out to get some herbs, but instead saw Thistletail, uneasy on her feet, eyes clouded with sadness. She began to pad away from the den, taking slow and dizzy foot-steps. Shortpaw narrowed his eyes for a moment, and followed her.

Thistletail continued towards RiverClan territory in the direction of the gorge. The gorge…where Longpaw had fell. [i]_She must be paying her respects_[/i], Shortpaw told himself and sped up to catch her. By the time the two of them had reached the gorge, Thistletail still hadn't heard him coming, as if she were in a world of her own.

"Thistletail…" Shortpaw mewed. The warrior spun around quickly, alarmed by his greeting.

"Oh, hello! Shortpaw! Yes." She attempted, but there was little enthusiasm in her voice. She turned around and stared off the edge of the gorge. Shortpaw joined her in silence, and the two of them continued to stare. "We were out hunting…" Thistletail muttered, as if in a dream.

"What happened?" Shortpaw urged her on.

"Longpaw and I planned to go hunting. We were leaving, and Brookpaw came with us. We…we decided to hunt near RiverClan, because ShadowClan are so hostile. We were all chasing rabbits, and one of them started to dart towards the gorge. Longpaw was chasing it, and she was getting too close…but before I saw her she had fell. I raced over to make sure she was okay… Brookpaw was already there. She fell, and I wasn't there to help her. I'm a terrible mentor!" She blurted it all out faster than the average cat should be able to.

Something was disturbing Shortpaw about the whole thing, though… It wasn't the story, nor was it anything that seemed strange about the tale, but Thistletail herself. She wasn't hysterical anymore – she was speaking clearly. She had really reflected on everything that happened…something was definitely much more wrong than the she-cat let off. She was staring back over the gorge, the same clouded look coming over her eyes. And then it clicked for Shortpaw…

"Thistletail, no!" He screamed, and grabbed for her with his paws. He just caught hers as she began to fall from the edge of the gorge.

"Shortpaw, you don't understand…she was my best friend, and I failed her…and I failed Ripplebrook…and Gorsestar…and you…" she was trying to move her paws free. She had the full intention of falling.

"No, you didn't. You did a great job…it was an accident; you couldn't have prevented it… Please, you're the only friend I have left!"

"You don't understand anything." Thistletail spat. She unsheathed her claws, digging into Shortpaw's paws. He jumped up with shock, and by the time he had moved Thistletail had sheathed her claws once again…and she was falling.

"No!" Shortpaw screamed out, as her body dropped out of view. He stared down, eyes wide. _It…just can't be… Thistletail…and Shortpaw…why?_

"Shortpaw? Shortpaw, what are you doing out here so early?" Cloudfur's voice came. He turned to see the dawn patrol – Cloudfur, Reedwhisker and Whirlpaw.

"She…she…" Shortpaw babbled, and fainted.

* * *

Gorsestar had demanded a personal explanation of the events before anyone else in the Clan found out. Shortpaw was honestly quite thankful for it; this way he could think about how to word everything. Once he had finished relaying the events to the leader, there was a pause.

"Thank you…" Gorsestar mewed. "These have been terrible losses. I will tell the Clan as soon as the hunting patrols return." Shortpaw nodded and retreated to the apprentices' den. The weather was, for once, absolutely fine – he just didn't want to face the rest of the Clan.

The den was absolutely empty, save for Shortpaw himself. _The others must be out hunting or training…_ he thought to himself. _But what do they matter? They're no friends of mine._ He dug his claws into the ground, fighting back a yowl of pain.

"Do StarClan hate me?!" He demanded, furious. He turned his head to the sky. "Why are you doing this to me?!" There was no reply. Shortpaw curled around himself on the ground, shaking despite the warm weather. It seemed like an eternity until anything happened around him.

"I suppose you know the pain now." A familiar voice said, from near-by. Shortpaw lifted his head to see Robinsong standing a mere rabbit-length from him. Her eyes carried no sympathy or happiness…just pain. "Now you know my pain. What I have to live with."

"We're different." Shortpaw mewed simply, his voice cracked.

"Pfah, much less so than you would think."

"Shadowwind told me everything," Shortpaw stood quickly, unsheathing his claws. "Who was my real father?" Robinsong tilted her head, staring into his eyes. Her unwavering gaze wasn't surprised. It was as if she had known this all along.

"No cat you know. I met him before…I assume—"

"He told me everything, kittypet."

"Yes…well, when I joined WindClan I was expecting my litter. WindClan openly accepted me… It really did bring joy to me to think that my kits would have a safe place to live. I didn't expect to find another mate… Nor did I want to. But then I met Runningleaf…"

"Runningleaf?" Shortpaw asked, thoroughly confused. He knew Runningleaf was a warrior of WindClan, but what did he have to do with Robinsong…?

"He was my mate before Shadowwind. He died scarcely a moon after you were born. Then Shadowwind promised to be there for you. And he was." She narrowed her eyes. "If only you could have really acknowledged that."

"He hated me! He said so himself…"

"Only because of what you did to Pebblepaw."

"Why should that matter so much to Shadowwind?"

Robinsong took a deep breath. "There are things that are better as they're left unexplored, Shortpaw."

"What are you talking about?"

"There is a lot about WindClan," his mother began, ominously, "that you have never heard…"


End file.
